Officials in eastern Missouri say the demolition of an old bridge across the Mississippi River damaged part of the new bridge under construction.
More demolition work was planned Wednesday on the Chain of Rocks Canal Bridge along I-270 in the northern St Louis metropolitan area.
The blast on Tuesday finished demolition work on the old westbound side of the bridge. In the near future another blast is planned to bring down the rest of the old structure.
It’s not clear how extensive the bridge damage was after Tuesday’s blast. The Illinois Department confirms “minimal damage” to the outside concrete wall of the new bridge.
IDOT confirms “minimal damage” to outside concrete wall of new Chain of Rocks Canal Bridge from blast. Officials also said part of the demolished bridge did not come down as they had hoped.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Postseason star Lorenzo Cain and the Kansas City Royals have agreed to a one-year contract for $2,725,000, just ahead of what would have been Major League Baseball’s first salary arbitration hearing this year.
Cain had asked for $3.6 million and had been offered $2 million when the sides swapped figures last month. In addition to his salary, the speedy outfielder would earn a $25,000 bonus for 505 plate appearances.
The sides entered the room for the hearing, which was scheduled to start at 2 p.m., then stepped outside the room and reached the agreement.
Cain, 28, hit a team-best .301 with five homers, 53 RBIs and 28 steals in 33 chances last season, when he made $546,000. He was MVP of the Royals’ sweep of Baltimore in the AL Championship Series after batting .533 (8 for 15) with a pair of doubles. He hit .308 in the World Series loss to San Francisco.
Four Royals remain in arbitration: first baseman Eric Hosmer and pitchers Danny Duffy, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland.
St Joseph voters easily approved a sewer bond issue, but voter turnout was less than the modest predictions of Buchanan County’s chief election officer.
Just 7.42 percent of eligible voters turned out to decide the ballot issue Tuesday. County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey predicted ten percent turnout.
The final tally was 88.3% yes, 11.7% no.
(2,837 people voted yes, and 376 voted no)
The vote allows the City Council to apply for bonds at greatly reduced interest rates to fund the latest phase of the mandated sewer renovation. Financing the $190 million project with bonds through the State Revolving Fund is expected to save the city about $53 million over the life of the 20-year bonds.
HASTINGS, Neb. (AP) — A company building a wind farm near a National Weather Service radar site in Nebraska has agreed to shut down the windmills during severe weather when forecasters ask.
The weather service says wind farms can look like rain or thunderstorms on weather radar.
The weather service announced the agreement with NextEra Energy Resources on Tuesday. The pact applies to a planned wind farm of up to 66 turbines south of Blue Hill.
Under the agreement, NextEra will shut down its turbines for up to an hour at a time anytime forecasters ask between March 21 and September 21.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Education officials say a school funding bill in the Kansas Legislature would force immediate cuts to programs in some districts.
The Senate Ways and Means Committee discussed a bill on Tuesday that would cut $39 million in supplemental funding for schools in the current fiscal year, which ends July 1. Committee chairman Sen. Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, said the funding is currently distributed unfairly and schools should be able to adjust.
But Topeka schools Superintendent Julie Ford told committee the cuts likely would force the district to cancel summer school programs and lay off custodial staff.
Other officials said it could force some schools to close early or cancel free lunches for at-risk students.
The Kansas City Royals announced Tuesday that the club has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with third baseman Mike Moustakas for the 2015 season, avoiding arbitration. Consistent with club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Moustakas, 26, hit 15 home runs last season, while batting .212 with 21 doubles and 54 RBI. He enjoyed a tremendous postseason, blasting a team-record five homers, including the go-ahead roundtripper in Game 1 of the American League Division Series in Anaheim. Moose hit safely in each of his first six playoff games and homered in the first two games of the ALCS at Baltimore’s Camden Yards. He also made a memorable catch in Game 3 of the series, falling over the railing above the dugout suites at Kauffman Stadium to haul in a foul ball off the bat of Adam Jones.
The signing of Moustakas leaves the Royals with five unsigned arbitration-eligible players: pitchers Danny Duffy, Kelvin Herrera and Greg Holland, first baseman Eric Hosmer and outfielder Lorenzo Cain.
St Joseph police have lifted the lockdown at St Joseph Schools, saying there is no credible threat. However, the St Joseph School District chose to keep schools under lockdown until 11:30a.m.
Authorities scrambled Tuesday morning to an apparently unfounded report of a shooter in a minivan on the streets of St Joseph.
If the motorist with an assault weapon spotted in St Joe IS the same fugitive being sought for a double homicide in Ohio, he put in a lot of miles in the wrong direction getting here.
Robert Clark is being sought in connection with the abduction and slaying of an Ohio couple January 20.
But authorities say Clark met up with two others and embarked on a crime spree starting January 21 involving at least four armed robberies in West Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia. According to published reports, investigators believe Clark was heading to Florida.
Authorities in Ohio questioned another suspect who was arrested over the weekend for the double homicide. Jeffrey Stewart told police that Clark said he has always wanted to see Jacksonville, Florida. Law officers in Florida were alerted.
Meanwhile St Joseph police have called off their search for that green Dodge minivan and are likely investigating the original report that spawned a lot of worry Tuesday morning.
LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — A Lenexa man will stand trial on two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of a man and his stepfather.
Alex Brune was bound over for trial Monday after a preliminary hearing into the deaths of 47-year-old Brian Baskind and his 79-year-old stepfather, Clifford Preston. Brune’s attorney entered not guilty pleas for him.
The Kansas City Star reports the men were stabbed in their Lenexa home last summer. Bruce was found shortly after the shooting with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He told investigators that he was kidnapped and was shot after stabbing both men while trying to escape.
Prosecutors allege the men were killed during a burglary and attempted robbery. Brune is also charged with aggravated burglary and two counts of attempted aggravated robbery.
The man charged with ramming his vehicle through a garage door and then allegedly shooting his ex-wife and her boyfriend is not allowed to post bond after all.
Daron Simpson is charged with Second Degree Murder for the fatal shooting of Andrew Clary in his home north of Faucett January 24th. Simpson’s ex-wife Amanda continues treatment for serious facial gunshot wounds.
A judge originally set bond at $75,000, but last week, Prosecuting Attorney Dwight Scroggins filed a motion to deny bond in the case.
During the arraignment Tuesday Simpson’s bond was revoked.
(UPDATE 10am) Police have issued this advisory: All schools are released from lockdown – there is NO credible threat
(UPDATE 9:53am) Officers have completed their search at Central High School without finding any sign of the suspects. Teachers inside the building are Tweeting that the building is still locked down to outsiders. The internal lockdown has been lifted. All St Joseph schools remain on lockdown status.
(UPDATE 9:40am) Police are searching a wide area of the city and took the precaution of locking down all schools in St Joseph, after someone reported a motorist firing an assault weapon. We have no reports of any injuries.
Shortly after 8:30am, police received reports the van was at Frederick and Woodbine heading west. That was the last known location of the vehicle.
Authorities have since received numerous reports from people who said they spotted the minivan being sought. None of those turned out to be the shooter. Officers searched Central High School after a witness reported a van dropping someone off at the school.
St Joseph Police are urging you to be on the lookout for a green Dodge minivan with Ohio license tag number “GIT6870.”
Police say you should not try to apprehend the suspects, but instead call 9-1-1.
A witness said the occupants of the van may have fired an assault weapon while driving on I-29.
The vehicle may be tied to a homicide in Ohio. Authorities believe the driver and two passengers are heavily armed.
(UPDATE 9:04am) Police have asked for a lockdown at all St Joseph Schools. A short time ago someone spotted a green minivan drop someone off at Central High School.
The St Joseph Police Department issued the alert via Nixle shortly after 8:30am Tuesday. Within about ten minutes, they were taking the unusual step of patching the city and county law enforcement dispatch radios into one signal, to coordinate the search for this suspect.
Officials say someone spotted the van heading west on Frederick near 13th Street at about 8:30 this morning. Another report placed the van at Frederick and Woodbine.
A van matching the description, but with different Ohio plates, was stopped briefly in the area of 13th and Frederick. But officials determined that the occupants were not involved.
A second van was spotted in another St Joe neighborhood, but it turned out to be the wrong minivan as well.
Officials in eastern Missouri say the demolition of an old bridge across the Mississippi River damaged part of the new bridge under construction. 
